Tanabata
by SkyGem
Summary: AU. ZakuxLevi. In which Levi and Zakuro are childhood friends who can meet only once a year, at the Tanabata festival. What happens when Levi stops showing up one year? Prompt for aimeeshii. Romance/angst/a tiny bit of comedy at the end.


Summary: AU. Zakuro/Levi. In which Levi and Zakuro are childhood friends who can meet only once a year, at the Tanabata festival. What happens when Levi stops showing up one year? Prompt for aimeeshii.

SkyGem: Hey all! I'd just like to start off by apologising because I'm almost positive that these two will be pretty OOC. I'm really sorry, I've never written them before and until he made his reappearance, I'd completely forgotten the existence of Zakuro…I'm sorry! Please don't hate me!

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

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><p><em><span>Age 10<span>_

Levi looked at the crying redhead kneeling on the ground in front of him, his gaze cast downwards.

"What's wrong, kid?" he asked, more out of curiosity than worry.

The kid looked at him and glared, though her eyes were still watery. "Nothing to do with you, idjit!"

Upon hearing the kid's comment, the six-year-old felt a tick form on his forehead. "That's not something that should come out of the mouth of a lady."

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "Well I ain't no lady!" And with that, she stood up, kicked Levi in the shins, and ran away, leaving a bruise on his leg.

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><p><em><span>Age 11<span>_

Levi watched the person in front of him in disbelief.

"You sure do cry a lot, don't you?" he asked the same kid he'd seen in this exact spot a year ago.

The kid looked up and glared, making Levi suddenly gasp.

"You're a boy?" he asked. Over the past twelve months, the boy's face had matured just a bit; enough so that he couldn't be mistaken for the opposite gender anymore.

He glared. "Of course I am! Didn't I tell you that last time?"

Levi blushed a little and looked away. "With a pretty face like that, who would believe you?"

To his surprise, the redhead smiled a little. "You're not too bad. Let's be friends!"

The older male just looked at him questioningly, surprised at the sudden one eighty in his personality.

"Wha-?" was his intelligent answer.

Suddenly all smiles, he took Levi's hand and started shaking it enthusiastically. "I'm Zakuro! Nice to meet you!"

After just a moment of hesitation, Levi said, "My name is Leviathan."

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><p><em><span>Age 12<span>_

"Levi!" shouted a vaguely familiar voice before the boy felt a weight fall onto his back.

"Wah!" he exclaimed before falling to the ground. "Zakuro!" he shouted, craning his neck so that he could see the boy on his back.

"Hm?" he said, tilting his head to the side.

"Get off!" he shouted.

Giggling, the redhead got off so that his friend could stand up. "So, how come I only see you at the festival?"

"Because I don't live around here," he replied, running a hand through his hair in an effort to tame it. "I live in Italy."

"Waah! Italy? That's so cool! What are you doing in Japan?"

He shrugged. "Visiting family?"

Noticing that his friend didn't want to talk about it, Zakuro just shrugged it off and dragged Levi off, saying, "Let's go have some fun, then!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Age 13<span>_

"Did you grow shorter?" asked Levi, who was in an unusually good mood.

"Urusai! You're the one that grew taller, baka yaro!" shouted Zakuro which made his friend chuckle in amusement.

"You're too pretty to be saying things like that," he replied, and it was true. Surprisingly enough, as they both grew older, Zakuro seemed to be getting more feminine rather than masculine; not enough to be mistaken as a girl, like when they were younger, but enough for even guys to possibly fall for him.

"I said urusai! I'm still young! When I get older, I'll definitely be more handsome than you!"

"Well, I look forward to seeing that," said his friend with a chuckle.

At that moment, Zakuro thought he felt his heart skip a beat.

* * *

><p><em><span>Age 14<span>_

"Your hair is longer, isn't it?"

"Of course it is, idjit! We haven't seen each other for a whole year!"

Levi just shrugged. "You usually cut it, but this year, it's longer than usual," he said, playing with a lock of the boy's wavy, shoulder-length hair. "It makes you look more like a girl."

Zakuro blushed when he heard this; he'd known his friend would say that. For some reason, though, being told he looked like a girl didn't bother him as much as it used to. In fact…he kind of liked it.

"Whatever! Let's just go!" he said, taking the boy's hand and dragging him towards one of the booths.

It was only when he heard Levi clear his throat that Zakuro remembered that they weren't kids anymore, and seeing two guys holding hands would seem pretty…

"Gah!" he shouted, suddenly letting go of his friend's hand as if it was on fire. "Gomen," he said, looking away.

Levi chuckled mysteriously and walked past him, ruffling his hair. "It's fine. Now come on. We only have a few hours!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Age 15<span>_

Zakuro sat on a bench, feeling both nervous and excited about seeing Levi. He'd been looking forward to this day for quite a while now,

"There you are," said a deep voice and Zakuro looked up to see…a stranger.

Feeling annoyed that this guy would (unknowingly) get his hopes up, Zakuro growled, "Get lost you fucking idjit. I'm waiting for someone."

Then, something completely unexpected happened.

The guy laughed a familiar laugh and suddenly, Zakuro realized who he must be.

"L-Levi?" he asked, shocked. The teen had grown almost a foot, and his voice had changed too. The only thing left of the Levi he once knew was his eyes, which were still as they'd always been; kind and full of laughter.

"You were expecting someone else?" he asked in that disconcerting voice which was different, yet familiar at the same time.

"You've changed," stated the younger male quietly.

"Yeah, I hit my growth spurt," he replied, looking a little embarrassed.

And it was then that Zakuro finally realized; he knew practically nothing about his friend. Out of the whole year, they only had about three or four hours together. When those hours were up, they went back to their daily lives until next they met each other and started the cycle again.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Levi, looking concerned.

Forcing a smile, Zakuro said, "It's nothing!"

Theo older male looked suspicious for a moment, then shrugged it off, saying, "Let's get going then."

Following after him, Zakuro asked, "So, what's your school like?"

Just because he didn't know anything about his friend didn't mean that he couldn't start learning now.

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><p><em><span>Age 16<span>_

"Wah! Today was so much fun!" exclaimed the happy sixteen-year-old. "It's too bad we won't see each other again for another year!"

Levi chuckled when he saw the pout on the younger boy's face. "You really are just like a girl."

"Nani?" asked Zakuro, pouting even more. "That's mean, Levi-chan! I'm a guy, you know?"

"Oh, I know," replied his friend, smiling mysteriously.

For some reason, his reply made a shiver run up Zakuro's spine, and before he knew it, the boy found himself pressed up against a wall.

Looking up at his friend with wide eyes, the redhead was about to ask what he was doing, but found he couldn't say a thing as the bigger male leaned down to devour his lips.

Zakuro was shocked, but even before he could react, the kiss ended as abruptly as it had begun.

As the young male fell to his knees with a face as red as a tomato, his friend turned away to hide a blush. "I'll see you next year."

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><p><em><span>Age 17<span>_

Zakuro waited impatiently for his friend to come. He had been looking forward to this day all year.

After the way they had parted, he had feared that things would be awkward, but right now, he didn't care about any of that. All he cared about was telling Levi his feelings.

"You finally look the right gender," said a familiar voice, and he looked up to see Levi standing in front of him, smiling. But there was something wrong. Even though his mouth was smiling, his eyes looked as if they might start crying any second now.

"Yeah," said Zakuro absently. "I finally hit my growth spurt."

"Looks like I can finally stop worrying about you being attacked, hm?" There was a teasing note in his voice, and Zakuro was relieved to see that the previous expression was gone.

"I've told you a million times before that I'm not a girl, idjit!" he said cheekily, getting a chuckle out of his friend,

"I can certainly see that…"

And with that, they went on with their annual tradition.

When it was finally time for them to part, Zakuro grabbed his friend's arm. "Leviathan," he started, using his full name for the first time years, "I lo-"

Before he could continue, the older male pulled his arm out of his grasp.

When Zakuro looked up at him in confusion, he saw that expression in his eyes again, as if he were about to start crying at any moment.

"Goodbye, Zakuro," said Levi.

The redhead waited for the next words, but they never came.

That year, for the first time since they became friends, Levi didn't say the words, "See you next year."

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><p>The next year, Zakuro didn't see his Italian friend at the festival. Neither did he see him the year after that, nor the year after that.<p>

The two friends didn't see each other for the next sixteen years, and when they finally did meet, their reunion wasn't as happy as one would expect.

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><p><em><span>Age 33<span>_

Zakuro watched the enemy from where he stood beside his boss.

They all looked like brats and weaklings to him.

All but one.

A tall man with a serious expression, and eyes that tugged at the redhead's mind, trying to unbury memories long locked away.

When the fighting started, that man became his opponent, and Zakuro couldn't be happier.

As the two of them exchanged blows, Zakuro found himself studying his opponent, and something about the man unconsciously made him hold back.

This proved to be his downfall, as the redhead finally fell to the ground after a particularly brutal bout.

As he was waiting for the finishing blow, his opponent kneeled down in front of him, and for the first time since the battle started, Zakuro saw his opponent's face properly; a face he couldn't possibly mistake for anyone else.

"I told you I'd become more handsome than you one day," he said as the man tried to help him sit up.

"And so you have," replied Levi with what appeared to be tears in his eyes. Bending down, he captured his friend's lips with his for their second and final kiss…

When he pulled away, Zakuro smiled, and his eyes slowly closed…

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><p>SkyGem: So, what did you think? Did you like it? I'm sorry it's so OOC it's not my fault!...Okay, it partly is, but I did my best! So please don't be too hard on me, ne? And please do review?...Haha, the ending is so depressing…I'm not that good with sadangsty fics. Which is probably why I'm going to do this…

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><p>~<em><span>Epiroogu~<span>_

"W-where am I?"

"Ushishishi, the guest has woken up! Must inform Levi!"

"L-Levi? Wait…why am I alive?"

"Idiot, I told you you'd be attacked one day."

"OhmaigodLevi!"

"Cut it out!"

"Hells no! Now stop moving and let me kiss you, idjit!"

"…"

"Ow! What the hell was that for you stupid Prince?"

"…"

"Wait…why can't I see anything?"

"…"

"OhmaigodI'mblind!"

"…No you're not…"

"Then, why can't I see you when I open my eyes?"

"…"

"…"

"…because you there are no windows in here and you broke the only light source…"

"…oh…"

"…"

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><p>SkyGem: …Don't complain about how confusing it is. At least I took the ten seconds to write it. XDDD I'm sorry. Serious stories just aren't my forte. I just had to add that little bit of insanity in there….ignore it if you want to…<p> 


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